A tragically-short lived subculture of the 80s and early 90s, which only had a significant impact in New York and London. It was a contemporary of the then-fledgling punk movment in these cites, both of which emerged from the Glam Rock of the late 70s (New York Dolls, David Bowie, T. Rex).

While the music style of the glam rockers evolved under the punks, their iconic style and philosophy of glamor and fashion, which they developed as a reaction to the earlier hippie movment, flourished under the club kids.

Fueled by club drugs such as Special K and Ecstasy, they dressed themselves in fabulously ornate costumes and went to clubs, hence the name. In New York, club owner Peter Gatien provided the venues of choice, such as the clubs Tunnel and Limelight. Michale Alig, a promoter of Gatien's, organized the hedonistic, drug-fueled, otherworldy parties that created such club kid icons as James St. James, Amanda Lepore, Kenny Kenny, Richie Rich, and Astro Earle.

The journalist Michael Musto for the Vilage Voice and Details magazine thoroughly documented the club kid's exploits up until Michael Alig was arrested for the murder of his dealer, Angel Melendez, and Gatien was arrested for the drug supermarket his clubs had become, effectively ending the movement.

James St. James described the world of the club kids in his book, Disco Bloodbath, which ultimately was made into the movie Party Monster.

While the church in which Limelight once was is now the nightclub Avalon, and Suzanne Bartsch (another 80s party icon) and Kenny Kenny still hold parties at Happy Valley, and Richie Rich has started his own clothing brand Heatherette with Trevor Raines, and Amanda Lepore is still just as revered in New York nightlife as always, the club kids are a dead subculture.

The Club Kids would throw "Outlaw Parties" in public venues, including subway stations and a McDonalds in Times Square, whose defining feature was the arrival of the police.

a group of eccentric, wildly flamboyant young clubgoers who more or less defined new york city nightlife in the late 1980s and early 1990s. led my michael alig, who formed a coterie of young misfits (with aliases such as james st. james, richie rich, leigh bowery, kenny kenny, walt paper and amanda lepore) and promoted the notorious disco 2000 party which took place every wednesday night at the limelight.

the limelight (now the avalon, at 6th and 21st) was homebase for the club kids. other venues included tunnel, palldium and club usa. all of these clubs were owned by peter gatien. house was the favored musical genre, ecstacy the favored drug (along with ketamine and, later on, heroin). the club kids dressed in outrageous, over the top, often risque outfits and costumes. though not exclusively gay, the rave scene they started in new york had a definite homosexual bent and was hugely popular among drag queens and transgendered individuals.

escalating drug use and overdoses and more and more cases of aids among the club kids, along with then-mayor rudy giuliani's crackdown on nightlife in manhattan led to the demise of the club kids. michael alig murdered his drug dealer in 1996 and is currently still in prison.

it's wednesday. time to score some E and head down to the limelight with the club kids. who's putting on my makeup? and where are my assless chaps?

the best looking people, with the best hair. everyone wants to be one, only a few are selected to actuallu become one. they are the best of the best. haters are jealous because they werent accepted as a clubkid themselves and think that clubkids are pricks.

guy 1: i fucking love the clubkids!:]]]!!!

guy 2: just a bunch of fucking teenagers thinking they are better than everyone else!!!

Gorgeous kids that are selected 3/2000. If you're accepted as a clubbbkid feel fucking privileged because its means you're hot as a hot thing on hot tablets at a babycakes convention. They all having amazing hair, are always better than your spouse, and are really really really really good looking. Also proper mint clubbbkids get 20% off bbycks clothing line as they look better than anyone else. Basically, life as a clubbbkid is better than anyone elses.

UGLYKID: "I requested club kids four months ago, but I still can't see the profile. I suck"